Cherry Blossom 10 Miler

Back in December, I started thinking about my 2013 race calendar. One of the first dates on my list was the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler. The race is huge, with entry only by a lottery system. On my first try, I was happy to be selected. There were 17,500 runners so I’m not sure how hard it was to get in, but I was happy nonetheless.

My winter training has been tough, I’m not going to lie. I took it easy after completing my first marathon, but as the calendar turned to 2013 I knew I should kick it back into higher gear. My goal was to work on speed. I've been running around a 10 minute mile pace since mid-last year, and I want to get faster. I flirt with faster paces but only for small distances. I often go out fast on runs and get slower as the miles tick by, so my average pace still drops closer to 10 mm. This winter was tough because it was cold, and most of my training was done on the treadmill. Try almost 6 months of running 2, 3, 4 times a week on the treadmill and it just gets old. There are only so many shows I can watch. I cannot handle running consistent paces, it just gets so boring. I mixed it up a lot, and almost none of my runs were single speed. I did intervals and repeats…pushing my speeds higher for shorter distances. I had no idea if it was helping at all, but it did seem to help my motivation. Still, I was only running 10-15 miles a week.

April 7^th quickly was upon me, and I’m staring down 10 miles with my longest runs since the MCM being just less than 7 miles. It really wasn't the distance that worried me. When you've conquered 26.2, anything less seems easy. I just wondered how my splits would be, and if I could make my goal time of 1 hour, 30 minutes (9 minute mile pace).

Race morning was very chilly for April, starting in the low 40s and only gaining a few degrees to the upper 40s. The sun peaked out though and it really was perfect weather. There were light winds that increased as we traveled into Hains Point. My first two miles were fast, 8:30 pace. As typical for me, I dropped my pace as the miles wore on. I watched my splits though, and was pacing well at just over 27 minutes for my 5K, and 55 minutes for the 10K. And then it was almost over. Like I said, 10 miles feels so fast when you've run for three more hours. I knew I would be flirting with my goal, and I kept telling myself to push harder because I knew I would be disappointed if I was just over the goal. I had quite an internal battle those last three miles, constantly calculating and talking myself into running harder and keeping the same pace. The only hill to speak of in this race is in the last half mile, and it was tough. I was so relieved when I crossed the finish line…in 1 hour, 29 minutes, 22 seconds. Mission accomplished!

I felt great overall. It was nice not to be going into a race with an injury. No pain, no cramping, and my nutrition went well. I drank nothing but Gatorade starting on Friday night, ate mostly carbs on Saturday and the pre-race dinner of pancakes and eggs seemed to work well (I also ate this before my half last June). I woke up at about 5:30 AM on Saturday morning, and had a piece of toast with honey, a banana and Gatorade watered down. I also had a Gatorade Prime the night before, and another one about 20 minutes before the race. Post race recovery was good. I was only a little sore, and nothing major. This was the longest distance I have run in my new sneakers. Speaking of which, I switched from my ever constant Nike Free to a new brand and a true zero drop sneaker, Altra Intuition. I made the switch a few weeks ago. It was a different feel from the outset, and I’m sure most of it is in my head (most of running is mental) but I think I like them. They have a ton of room in the toe box, and I think it was better on this 10 miles. I only had one toe with a small blister, and the ones that normally bother me were fine. I was lusting for my old sneakers and I tried them on a week or so ago, and I was floored by the difference. They just don’t feel right anymore, and I knew then that I couldn't go back. Altra comes from Utah, they are a company formed by runners for runners and I think they've got a good product. I tried on just about every ‘minimalist’ shoe on the market and kept coming back to this one.

My next race is on June 1^st when I will participate in the ZOOMA Annapolis half marathon for the 2^nd time. It will be my first repeat distance since I starting running consistently. Since March 2012, I have run a 10K, 10 mile, half, and full. I’m excited to focus more on one distance. My goal is to beat 2 hours for the half. That will be 10 minutes faster than my first, and will mean I keep under a 9 mm pace for the entire 13.2. It’s not too lofty of a goal, considering my performance this past Sunday.

In other running news, Quinn ran the ½ mile kids run on Sunday morning and finished 10^th! He got a pretty nice medal for his efforts. Also, the kids are finishing up their 5K training programs at Beech Tree. Next Saturday is the 5K. Quinn will not be participating because he will be camping, so we will run with Keely.